Who's Your Daddy?

Published: 2008.07.09 05:00 AM

Should I have children, or travel? Pursue my dreams or get a job with benefits? Go to the denim sale or pay my electric bill?

Such pressing life questions seem simple compared to the quandary of middle-aged everyman Marcus Ripps, protagonist of Seth Greenland’s hilarious new satirical novel “Shining City.” After losing his factory job to China, Marcus faces defaulting on his L.A. home and a sexless marriage, until his estranged brother bequeaths him a dry cleaning business. But this solution is quickly soiled when he learns the only thing being laundered there is money earned by a suite of prostitutes.

So, what to do but rationally consider the irrational – becoming a pimp. After all, then Marcus could pay off his mortgage, afford his son’s over-the-top bar mitzvah, rescue his wife’s business, and buy his medical marijuana-smoking mother-in-law health insurance. And if he’s a good provider and boss, offering 401Ks and healthcare to his ladies, is he really a criminal?

Greenland’s exacting characterization and pithy descriptions cleverly position this ludicrous plot somewhere between a laugh-out-loud farce and an illuminating portrait of modern society’s moral ironies and unbelievable dilemmas.

The perfect novel for a time when To pimp or not to pimp? is everybody’s real-life question.

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Lei Chic is a daily email and shopping blog that plugs you into Hawai‘i’s newest and hottest boutiques, designers, trends, spas and salons, and more. You’ll also discover all the cool events, dinners and sales happening around town in our Weekend Picks every Thursday. With Lei Chic, you’ll get the inside scoop on what everyone will be talking about tomorrow – in your inbox today.

Lei Chic Associate Editor Natalie Schack has been a cultural anthropology student, museum worker bee and dabbler in graphic design. When she isn’t scouting new fashion, compiling to-do lists or crafting puns, Natalie spends her free time dreaming up elaborate picnic ideas; “researching” via YouTube tutorials, blogs and Instagram; and dusting off her pith helmet for the next adventure life throws her way.